In this evocative novel of redemption, Greenwood (Undressing the Moon) finds humanity and redemption in the life of a smalltown widower and his legacy of guilt. In 1980, 12 years after his involvement in the murder of a black man, railroad worker Harper Montgomery is still living under a cloud of guilt. Alternating between past and present, Harper's narrative reveals bit by bit the circumstances of the crime, as well as the long-devoted lover Harper was, and the caring father he's become. Harper's narrative makes a mystery of much: we know he participated in the murder, but not why. We know his wife died, but not how. Already struggling to raise his daughter, Shelly, further questions surround his decision to take in pregnant teen Maggie. As the past catches up the present, however, Harper's grave fears give way to unexpected and poignant developments. Greenwood is a writer of subtle strength, evoking smalltown life beautifully while spreading out the map of Harper's life, finding light in the darkest of stories. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Ghosts of his heartbreaking past visit a railroad worker in rural New England. A life marked by tragedy is the cornerstone of this Northern Gothic by Greenwood (Undressing the Moon, 2002, etc.). Narrator Harper Montgomery is a gloomy figure, beset by melancholy and struggling to raise his young daughter Shelly in a cracker-box apartment in the small town where he's lived most of his life. He's haunted, not only by the horrific wreck that killed his wife Betsy 12 years earlier, in 1968, but also by his involvement in a brutal crime referred to fleetingly in cryptic bridging segments. Harper's dismal life working at the freight office of the railroad station in Two Rivers, Vt., is interrupted by a terrible train crash. From the wreckage, Harper rescues a pregnant adolescent, "a girl with skin the color of blackberries," and takes her into his home against his better instincts. The terrified girl calls herself Marguerite Dufresne and claims to be fleeing to Canada after being raped in her Southern hometown. From this bleak starting point, Greenwood knits a densely woven sequence of events that finds Harper recounting his love affair with Betsy Parker throughout the '60s as well as the startling (and often implausible) misfortunes that befall their families, including the suicide of Betsy's mentally ill mother and a fire that devastates Harper's family. Along the way, he unravels the mystery of Marguerite's origins and begs forgiveness for the long-ago racial violation that spurred the suicide of one of Harper's childhood friends. Greenwood's novel features a satisfyingly complex romance and admirable storytelling momentum, but its fractured swing between passion and heartbreak make it a tough read. By the time the syrupy finale rolls around, the woebegone plight of its pitiful narrator has grown tedious. Overwrought context obscures a sweetly told love story. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Harper Montgomery, a young widower raising his daughter, Shelley, in the small Vermont town of Two Rivers in 1980, is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, Betsy, in an accident 12 years before, when Shelley was just a baby. A train derailment leads Harper, who is a railroad worker, to rescuing a pregnant black teenager from the water. This sets in motion a complex tale of guilt, remorse, revenge, and forgiveness. Greenwood (Undressing the Moon; Nearer the Sky) holds our attention by alternating the train wreck in 1980 with flashbacks from 1968 that set the scene for the following events. For an author too young to remember the 1960s, Greenwood is convincing in her portrayal of that turbulent decade, from the civil rights marches to the Vietnam War protests. By the conclusion of this interesting novel, she has deftly tied up all the loose ends. Recommended for most public libraries.-Leslie Patterson, Brown Univ. Lib., Providence (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.